


Curse of the Phantom

by Kittens_secret



Series: Phantoms Curse [1]
Category: Danny Phantom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 14:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16120172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittens_secret/pseuds/Kittens_secret
Summary: Danny gets cursed by something unknown and ends up at Vlad's. Can Vlad figure out what it is? How will our boys deal with each other in the meantime? Rating is for possible triggering gore details (not to in-depth but no one likes flames due to no warning) OC's are minor characters. COMPLETE





	1. Cursed

"It's OK. Breath, that's it. I'm here now, just breath. No one can hurt you."

Danny took a shuddering breath looking around, everything was foggy except. Was that Vlad above him? The edges started going black and before he closed his eyes he heard

"That a boy, you're safe now, just rest. I'm not going to leave you"

Danny felt himself floating, which wasn't unusual but what was is he was in space, as human Danny. He took a few deep breaths and sighed, it felt nice, he was numb and weightless. But he wasn't just floating, no, he was headed towards a sun. He didn't want to head towards the sun, it was bright and it hurt and...

Danny sat straight up in bed and let out a scream of agony. He tore at his clothing and skin screaming again. It burned, why did it burn? He flung his shirt off and started scratching at his skin, throat sore from scream he could do nothing but whimper as he kept burning. The sound of a door bursting open drew his eyes across the room. Vlad strode in with a tray in his hands containing different jars and beakers.

"Daniel stop it you're hurting yourself."

As he moved closer Danny propelled himself across the huge bed.

"You're the one doing this? Why am I not surprised you always wanted to hurt me."

"Daniel I am not doing this I am trying to help you get through this."

By this time Danny was getting to his feet. "Get away from me you're a monster you..."

Danny collapsed and returned to whimpers.

Vlad set his tray on the dresser and rushed around the bed.

"Daniel? Daniel focus." He pulled Danny into a sitting position against him and spoke softly. "Hear my heartbeat? Focus on that. Daniel? Stay with me...I need to..."

Danny dropped back into darkness and this time there were no stars.

When Danny awoke next there was no burning only a coolness. Opening his eyes he was blinded by the brightness, closing them he groaned and lifted his hand to his eyes. But it wasn't his hand, cracking his eyes open he saw bandages up his arm, sitting up a bit he hissed at the spike of pain. Lifting the sheet he saw his entire chest was bandaged in gauze. He pulled at one of them he started unraveling it.

At this, the door opened again.

"Leave that alone you need to heal."

Danny jumped and winced at the shoot of pain. "I could have guessed you were behind this."

Vlad rolled his eyes and entered further seating himself in the chair beside the bed, far to elegantly if Danny was asked.

"I didn't do this to you, in fact, you did that to yourself."

"Why would I do this to myself. You're lying."

Vlad leaned back in his chair and Sighed.

"Really Daniel? In all of our fights have I ever seriously injured you? Sure you've had a couple bumps and bruises but I have never caused you serious harm."

Vlad let Danny think on that a bit before he continued.

"I found you a week ago floating in the ghost zone, you seem to have been cursed by something, your body was overheating and your core was all out of sorts. Being an ice core you can't stand intense heat. At one point you woke up and I walked in to find you scratching at your chest. You left some deep gashes that are still healing. Now I've managed to stabilize your core for now but its only temporary. I haven't yet been able to figure out what the curse is but I'm not giving up."

Danny's mean reply died on his lips as he watched the man, Vlad looked exhausted. His shirt was rumpled, his tie was missing, sleeves were rolled up and hair was frizzed and pulled into a messy ponytail. Danny's gaze traveled around the room and landed on a rollaway bed in the corner with a folded blanket and pillow laying on top. His gaze returned to Vlad and locked onto his eyes.

"When is the last time you had a full nights rest?"

Whatever Vlad was expecting it wasn't that. He faltered and his eyes dropped to the floor

"Well..." Looking back up to Danny he sighed. "Probably the night before I found you. Seeing as I couldn't stabilize you I had to be close. I was either here or in my lab with a double watching you. It has been...taxing."

"Why are you doing this?"

Again Vlad's eyes dropped to the ground, it was starting to worry Danny, this was very unlike that man he had become used to in the past years.

"It's my job to protect you."

"Your Job? Protect me? How is it your job and you call fighting me all these years protection?"

"It is my job because I am the other halfa. Remember what I said earlier about never hurting you? I fought you because it made you stronger. I knew other ghosts would be after you and you refused training. Think of all the ghosts you've fought throughout the years. Imagine fighting Skulker on your first day, imagine fighting Destiny in your first week. You learned of new powers and enhanced your abilities by fighting me."

Danny closed his mouth and pouted. Vlad had a point, Plasmisus never hurt him and did always hold back but seemed to get tougher over the years.

"Why is it your job as the other Halfa?"

Vlad looked at his watch. "That is a story for another day. You need rest and your next round of medicine isn't for another hour. If you need anything pull the cord by your bed, I'll be in my lab." before he closed the door he turned towards Danny who had raised his arm to his chest.

"And little badger. Leave those bandages alone or I shall bind you to the bed."

With that, he was gone and Danny was left glaring at a door. Huffing he picked at the bandage again then thought better of it and let his eyes wander around the room. It was large, but then again every room in this "house" was large, in one corner sat a closed double door that he bet led to a closet. Straight across from him was a door that led to the bathroom, he could see the mirror from here that took up an entire wall, in the room he could see the reflection of a large tub, a separate shower and another glassed in area which he couldn't figure out the purpose of. Getting back to the room he saw sparse but expensive furnishings, even the roll away bed looked to be of grand quality. But really what did he expect from Vlad Masters the billionaire. One wall there was somewhat of a mystery, it seemed to be a picture frame but it had a black cloth covering the majority of it, all Danny could make out was it was in a silver frame. Sighing Danny leaned back against the pillows and looked around once more, he was bored. His eyes landed on the bedside table where there was a book. Wincing he leaned over to grab it and opened to a random page, reading a few paragraphs he hummed and began at the beginning.

That was how Vlad found him as he came through the door next. Danny didn't even look up as he set the tray down on the side table and sat in the chair.

"Enjoying my book little badger?"

Danny glanced up then back to the book.

"Who knew you had such good taste frootloop."

Vlad sighed at the nickname then stood stepping towards the bed.

"Do you think you can put it down long enough to get your medications done? After this, I won't have to bother you for a few more hours so you may read to your heart's content."

Danny placed the book to the side after memorizing the page number then glared at the tray on the side table.

"I'm not taking those."

Vlad glared back at the boy. "Really Daniel? You think I spent a week pulling you back from the brink of death only to poison you now? If you don't take these your core temperature will spike, and we will be back to square one. Please, Trust me, I'm trying to protect you."

Danny glanced towards Vlad then back to the tray. It made sense but after all these years trusting the evil bastard wasn't natural.

"Fine, do what you must."

Vlad offered him a few drinks explaining what they did. This one stabilized his core, that one brought down the fever, another for pain. Then came the difficult part, Vlad started removing the bandages, he started with Danny's right arm. There was a crisscross of lines across it in different healing stages. Since you are awake we won't have to bandage whole areas if you can be careful not to injure them further, after a nod from Danny he only bandaged the open ones leaving the scabbed over ones open to the air, this was duplicated on the other arm before Vlad paused fingering the bandage on his chest.

"You should close your eyes for this one."

Danny looked into Vlad's eyes and saw sadness, he didn't think he had ever seen that look on the man's face.

"I'll be OK, just take it off."

Vlad let out a breath then nodded. "I need you to sit still then."

He retrieved a pair of scissors and began cutting up each side, he looked at Danny's face once more before pulling the strips off. Vlad took such care stopping after every time a strip caught and he felt Danny wince.

"I'm so sorry little badger, I'm trying to be careful."

Danny bit his lip against a pull then shakily replied. "I know, it's OK, keep going."

It continued slowly till all the front strips were removed, he had Danny lean forward to pull the unused ones from the back before settling him back on the pillows. Once Danny got a full look at his chest he looked away.

"I did this?"

"Yes, you were trying to dig out the heat. or that's my best guess at least."

Danny looked back at his chest, there were lines all over some were healed into thin scabs while others were held together with butterfly sutures. Vlad moved towards the tray and pulled a spray off it.

"This is something I designed, its an antibacterial plus adds a ghost healing factor. I have used it on many occasions but did not want to use it on you until you were awake and could tell me if you felt up to it."

Danny looked between his chest and spray.

"Does it hurt?"

"Yes, it will hurt for a few seconds then it just becomes a dull ache, we will have to do it twice a day until they are healed, unless of course, you wish to stop."

Danny looked once more at the bottle before nodding  
Vlad began spraying on the further healed cuts before moving onto the deeper ones. Danny tensed and gritted his teeth against the pain, at one point he reached forward and grabbed onto Vlad's hand squeezing tight. Vlad paused.

"Do you want to stop?"

Danny let out a shaking breath and whispered. "No you're almost done, keep going."

Vlad squeezed his hand back and continued till his entire chest was covered with the blue, slightly bubbling, substance.

"OK its over, we will let this sit for 10 minutes before covering it back up."

Danny released his hand and let out a few shaking breaths.

"So since we have time. Tell me why it's your job as the other halfa."

Vlad couldn't help but roll his eyes as Danny grinned. Feeling a small smile reach his own lips he let out a laugh.

"Very smooth subject change little badger."

Danny laughed at that, "And while you're at it you can tell me why you call me little badger."

Vlad sat back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair smoothing it back.

"I won't answer fully since you aren't quite ready for that but I will answer in time."

Danny rolled his eyes and was about to cross his arms before he remembered he couldn't, he settled for pouting instead.

"I call you little badger because of how you act, you are mostly solitary but the people you associate yourself with become very close to you. You are rather small but don't let that stop you from being fierce and determined in battle. You are also very protective over what you consider to be yours. As for why it's my job I will just say that you and I are connected. We are the only two of our kind meaning we are not understood by humans nor ghosts. There are some ghost traits we picked up that humans do not have, in time you will understand. Remember, I was in your shoes at one point. I've been where you are and I know what is to come regarding your two halves interacting."

Checking his watch he stood.

"It's almost time, let me grab more bandages and ill be back."

While he was gone Danny thought over what he had said. Really he didn't care why he was called little badger it had just been a curiosity. But the other part. What did Vlad mean by they were "Connected". He understood Vlad had been through this, He was fairly new to this yet Vlad had been living with this for 20 years. As Vlad came back in Danny was going to ask more but seeing his closed-off reaction he decided to hold off. Vlad bandaged him quickly with few words spoken. When the task was complete he turned to leave. Danny grabbed his arm before he could get far.

"Thank you, you didn't have to save me and you definitely didn't have to keep looking after me but you have."

Vlad held Danny's hand up to his lips and gave it a soft kiss.

"It's my pleasure, Daniel."

As if suddenly realizing what he had done he dropped Danny's hand and exited the room. Danny just stared at his knuckles where Vlad had kissed then the door. Why had he done that? After staring at the door a few more minutes he picked up his book and continued where he left off.


	2. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my chapters are un-beta'd currently.

Over the next couple of weeks, Danny was allowed more liberties although he still had to take core stabilizing tonic, as Vlad called it. The first day he had tried to take himself to the bathroom but soon realized his legs wouldn't work. He was stuck with the option of asking Vlad for walking assistance or wetting his pants and needing Vlad to help him change. Asking for help seemed less embarrassing but Danny soon realized something, he had been unconscious for a week, how had he been going to the bathroom. After posing that question to Vlad he got a cough, a few mumbles then a quick change of subject. Day four Vlad helped him walk to the library downstairs, much to Danny's dismay when they got to the top of the stairs Vlad picked him up bridal style and carried him down. Something about him not being strong enough to take on stairs quite yet, it still left a blush on Danny's cheeks the rest of the way. By day eight he could walk on his own but he still felt better if Vlad was with him for longer distances, Vlad would tuck Danny's arm into the crook of one of his. On day twelve Vlad took him on a tour of the house and grounds, Danny realized he had been staying in the master bedroom and after Vlad moved the cot out on day two he had moved into one of the spare rooms that was directly next to the master. Danny tried arguing the fact that as the guest he should be staying in the guest room but Vlad would not hear of it.  
"I want you to be comfortable Daniel until I can figure out what this curse is I would like to have you stay here. I do not mind being in another room."  
Danny was informed that he was allowed anywhere in the house except the lab and Vlad's personal study unless Vlad was with him. Some days he would wander to the study and curl up in a chair reading while Vlad worked on some documents for his businesses. One day Danny showed up and instead of the usual stiff-backed office chair he normally occupied there was a high back plush armchair. Approaching it he ran his fingers along the arm, it was soft and on the back rested a blanket.  
"I figured if you were going to continue haunting my office with your presence you should at least be comfortable, the blanket is a cooling blanket as well if you feel you are getting too warm." Vlad hadn't even looked up from his work but to Danny, it looked like there was a light blush staining his cheeks.  
"Thank you" Danny replied before sliding into the chair, he let out an audible groan that he would later deny. This was one comfortable chair, pulling his legs up he curled up in a ball and continued his newest book. He was slowly making his way through Vlad's library and was currently onto the B's. After a few chapters, he was startled by Vlad's voice.  
"It's almost two, are you hungry?" Vlad was pushing away from his desk and slowly stretching.  
Danny uncurled and placed his book on the table beside his chair, yes it was his chair now. "I'm a growing teenager, of course I'm hungry."  
"Don't remind me." for a moment Vlad almost looked guilty before the look was wiped off his face and the mask was back, extending his hand out to Danny he spoke softly. "Come my little badger, let's get you something yummy."  
Danny took his hand and slowly stood up stretching out his back before letting Vlad lead him out of the room. That was another difference, Vlad started referring to him as "my" badger. Danny had a small file going of all the differences but didn't quite feel like figuring it out just yet.  
Breakfast and lunch were always informal, eaten in the kitchen on the island instead of the formalness of dinner that was always held in the dining hall. Danny had a feeling Vlad never ate breakfast before he arrived but was now trying to make an effort for Danny's sake. Lunch today was simple sandwiches and chips. About halfway through Vlad cleared his throat.  
"Daniel, how are you feeling today?"  
Danny swallowed his bite and shrugged " I feel better than yesterday but still feel a little light headed if I stand for too long. Some nights I'm still getting to hot." Danny had taken to sleeping in his boxers under a sheet and most days roaming the house in shorts and a t-shirt if he was outside sometimes he avoided the shirt altogether.  
Vlad nodded and looked down at him. " I have a business dinner tonight with a new client so I will not be home until late. I shall have Emmeline make you something for dinner but don't worry about eating in the dining room. Remember to be on your best behavior Daniel and you know the rules. I won't be in my study for the rest of the day so you may go in to grab your book but do not go in for the rest of the evening."  
After that, he placed his plate in the sink and walked out of the room. Danny slowly finished his sandwich then went to retrieve his book. This would be the first time he had the house to himself, usually he would relish in being alone but today he just felt unsure. Moving to the living room he curled up on the couch and opened his book. He hadn't realized he had drifted off till he awoke to a hand slowly brushing through his hair and a soft voice in his ear.  
"Come on Daniel, wake up my little one."  
Danny groaned and fluttered his eyes open looking up to see Vlad with a soft smile on his face.  
"I'm leaving for my dinner, I didn't want you napping for too long and Emmeline almost has dinner ready for you. Danny stretched and got up to follow him to the door, Vlad was dressed in a well-tailored suit and had his hair pulled back into a ponytail with soft curls. "Remember to be a good boy and I'll see you when I get back." with that Vlad gave him one last smile before disappearing out the door.  
Danny stood by the front window for a bit watching Vlad's car leave the grounds, once the car turned down the main road and was out of view Danny moved away and towards the kitchen looking for Emmy. Emmeline or Emmy as Danny called her was an older lady probably in her late 50's, she was completely deaf and Danny had been learning sign language to better understand her, she had been patient and even laughed at him a few times if he messed up, she could read lips but a lot of times she would want him to use his hands, every day she taught him one new sign.. when he came in the kitchen she was standing over the oven checking on its contents. When she turned she smiled softly at him and signed.  
"Hello Danny, I hope you brought your appetite."  
Danny smiled and responded "Hello Emmy, I did. How are you yesterday?"  
Emmy laughed and shook her head, Danny blushed knowing he had mixed something up. She showed him the sign that he did, then showed him the correct one for today. After he did the sentence correctly she responded.  
"I am good, tonight's dinner is spaghetti squash with chicken" Danny looked at her confused, he knew chicken and she spelled out squash but he didn't quite understand the sign for spaghetti. "Spaghetti?" he asked her, she showed him the sign then spelled out the word.  
"That is tonight's word, spaghetti." he just laughed as she went to pull it out of the oven.  
Dinner was pretty much quiet, tonight it was just Danny, Emmy, Mitch the gardener and Cleo the maid, Alfie the butler had the night off. Danny had laughed when he learned Vlad had a butler named Alfred because of course he did. Vlad preferred to call them by their full names but they had stated they were alright with Danny using nicknames.  
According to Cleo "It is good to have someone young and lively to look after, Master Vlad is nice no doubt but he is always locked away in his study."  
Emmy had added that "He never came out for meals when he was on his own, I worried about him eating." Mitch had translated seeing as this was early on in his stay.  
When dinner was done Emmy shooed him out so she could clean up. he had learned quickly not to get underfoot, he had been swatted with a broom the first time he had tried to wash dishes after a meal. Roaming around briefly he decided tonight was a movie night, going to the main living room off the entry hall he browsed Vlad's collection. Danny had a feeling Vlad had bought a lot of these when Danny started getting up on his own since "Monsters vs zombies: iii" did not seem like something Vlad would watch. Deciding on his movie he popped in in the player and settled into the couch to watch.  
After two movies Vlad still wasn't home, usually he and Danny would play a short game of chess before bed "Something to get that muscle between your ears working young Daniel." Danny turned off the TV and headed upstairs to get ready for bed. As he was pulling on his shorts he heard the front door open and talking. Danny snuck out of the room to the top of the stairs and peered around the railing. He wished he could go ghost but Vlad had said with the unknown curse it was probably a bad idea. In the main entry was Vlad with a very beautiful blonde on his arm, she was obviously drunk. Vlad called for Cleo, when she arrived he handed the woman over.  
"Could you please show my companion to the blue room, I fear she may have had too much to drink and can not remember her address." Vlad had to almost pry the woman off himself before she was escorted to the room stated. Danny stared on in confusion. The blue room was one of the two guest rooms on the lower floor. While they were nice they weren't as nice as the ones upstairs.  
Vlad straightened his suit and began up the stairs. Danny scrambled around the corner and into his room shutting the door softly and hopping into bed, he didn't have time to pull the sheet up before he heard the door crack open. He feigned sleep as he heard Vlad cross the room. There was a moment where time seemed to drag on before he felt Vlad sigh and pull up the discarded sheet to cover Danny. Danny felt his hair being smoothed off his forehead and a warm pair of lips softly kiss him where the hair had been moved. "Sleep well my little one" one last soft kiss before the footsteps retreated and the door closed.


	3. Wrong side of the bed

It took Danny a while to fall asleep, he was pondering the actions of Vlad. Did he do this every night? What did it mean? Did it have anything to do with why Vlad was using the word “my”? 

It felt like Danny had just fallen asleep when he was awoken by a sound, someone was climbing into bed with him. He was instantly awake and listening, they were breathing shallowly and through the darkness, Danny couldn't see a thing. Soon a hand reached out to cress his chest it was small, Wait? Why would Vlad be in his bed and why was he concerned about the size of his hands? The person scooted closer and Danny felt the unmistakable press of soft breasts against his arm. This wasn't Vlad, this was that woman. Danny yelled out and pushed himself off the bed. 

“Who are you?” he yelled into the darkness. The next moment he was blinded by the overhead light coming on.   
“Daniel are you OK?” Vlad said from the doorway before his attention was drawn to the bed. “What the hell?” 

Danny blinked a couple times adjusting to the light before he looked at the scene in front of him, there he was standing on the far side of the bed in just his shorts. Said bed was taken by the blonde that had escorted Vlad in earlier she was clutching the sheets too, Danny presumed, her very naked body while looking in horror at Danny. In the doorway stood Vlad, a livid Vlad, clad in a pair of striped pajama bottoms and a grey shirt. If this had been an old 90's sitcom there would be a laugh track playing right about now, but it wasn't, and no one felt like laughing. Vlad moved first, he stepped further into the room and crossed his arms. Looking from the woman to Danny and back again.

“Daniel explain.” Vlad settled his gaze on the intended target. 

The woman opened her mouth and started sputtering something. Vlad turned towards her and glared. 

“I did not say you now did I? Be quiet, I'll get your side in a bit.” Vlad turned back towards Danny and raised an eyebrow waiting for an answer, Danny felt his face heat up as he looked at the ground

“I...well I don't know. I mean, well, I woke up and she was in my bed with her hand on my chest, I didn't really realize what was happening till she pressed her, um her.” Danny motioned to his chest weakly trying to get his point across, he looked up to see if Vlad understood what he meant. Out of the grace of God he did. 

Not to embarrass Danny more he turned towards the woman. “Is this true?” he heard Danny pout, he could assure the teen later he wasn't implying that he was lying but for now Vlad had to figure out the truth. 

The woman was still clutching the sheet to her chest as she responded. “I came in to see you. I went up and down the halls, this one was the only one with a double door. Who lets their son sleep in the master bedroom?” Vlad winced at the word son, that was a sore spot for them both. “You seemed into me at dinner then when we got here you just passed me off like I was nothing. I was going to come in and change your mind.” Vlad took a deep breath and rubbed a hand up the bridge of his nose.

“Get out” he stated

“Excuse me?” she squeaked 

“I said get out of my house.”

“Its the middle of the night.” 

“I will call you a cab. Just get out.” Vlad was starting to get angry, Danny could see it in his face.

“After the wonderful evening we had you are just going to throw me out” she had begun yelling now and Danny backed up a few steps. This did not go unnoticed by Vlad.

“You have come into my house as a guest, I have shown you courtesy by giving you a room for the night. You repay me by attempting to sneak into my room while I was asleep. In actuality, you snuck into my little one's room and sexually assaulted him. Now I shall ask once more before removing you myself. Get your ass out of that bed and get out of my house you goatish clay-brained skank.” 

The girl stared open-mouthed at Vlad before climbing completely nude out of Danny's bed, bending over to pick up the robe she had obviously come in before storming out making sure to push past Vlad. When she was headed down the stairs he picked up the phone by the bed and called Cleo letting her know the guest would be leaving early and she could wait for her cab outside. Once that was done he rounded the bed and pulled Danny into his arms. Before that moment Danny hadn't known he had been shaking but when he felt Vlad's arms around him he stopped and leaned into the taller man.

Vlad nuzzled his head into Danny's hair and took a deep breath. “My little badger are you alright?” Vlad pushed him back to arm's length to check him over. “That woman didn't hurt you did she?” when Danny shook his head in the negative Vlad pulled him back into a hug. 

“That's good, I would hate to sully my spotless record.” Danny chuckled at that and felt his arms come up to hug Vlad back. They stood like that for a while before Vlad sighed.

“As much as I could stay here all night we need to attempt to get some more sleep.” When Vlad tried to pull back Danny wouldn't let him.

“Little badger you have to let me go so I can go back to bed, you need sleep too.” Danny let out a mumbled “no.”

Vlad sighed again and started running one hand up and down Danny's back. “No what my little one?”

Danny looked up then looked to the bed “not there.” Vlad's hand stopped moving as he understood.

“OK, you can sleep in the red room tonight.” the red room was down the hallway and across the hall from where Vlad was currently staying.

Danny clung tighter to Vlad. “No, you.” Vlad began chewing on his bottom lip, a nervous habit he thought he broke years ago. 

“That's not appropriate Daniel. You cant stay in my room.” Danny nuzzled into Vlad's chest

“Don't care. Want to.” Vlad let out a sigh then nodded slowly.

“Alright, but only tonight, tomorrow Cleo will come in and replace the sheets and you're back in here. Understand?” Danny nodded and released his arms from around Vlad so the other man could move.

Vlad still looked unsure yet slowly led the way to the room adjacent to the master that he had been staying in. The lamp beside the bed had been turned on when Vlad woke so the room was gently lit. He walked around to the far side and turned down the sheets before sliding in. 

“Just for tonight.” he seemed to say more to himself than Danny. Danny slid onto the other side and yawned, Vlad stole one more Glance before turning off the light.

“Goodnight My little badger.”

Before Danny dropped off to sleep he managed to get out “Good night my fruitloop.”


	4. Testing

Vlad POV

 

Vlad woke up first which in itself wasn't unusual, what was unusual was the weight pinning down his left side. He opened his eyes slowly to see the sun shining around the heavy drapes,hmm he had slept late. The weight to his left shifted and Vlad looked down, oh it's just Danny He had begun to relax again before he snapped to wakefulness. Daniel was in his bed, why was Daniel in his bed? He ran through the previous night in his mind quickly before he got to the important part. That woman...that whore. Had touched HIS Danny, HIS LITTLE ONE. She was lucky Danny had needed him or else her consequences would have been much worse. As Danny began shifting more and waking up Vlad tried to come up with a plan

 

Normal POV

Danny let out a shiver and curled towards the warmth off to his right, the warm spot started to move and Danny let out a protest. 

“Nooo stay, so warm.”

The warm spot stopped moving but a voice pierced the stillness. 

“Daniel get up, this is quite inappropriate.” 

Danny opened his eyes only to find himself faced with the fact he was cuddling his nemesis. Suddenly he was fully awake and pushing himself across the bed. He let out an oof as he accidentally fell onto the floor. 

Vlad chuckled and slid out of bed smoothly. “Very graceful Daniel.”

Danny just blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not my fault. You surprised me, what are you doing in my bed anyway?”

Vlad just raised an eyebrow “You're actually in my bed and if you would kindly remember to last night I tried to make you sleep in your own but you refused. Now, I think we should get ready for the day and speak more at breakfast.”

Danny nodded and scrambled off the floor heading towards his own room.

 

Later at a simple breakfast, Vlad looked over at Danny and frowned. “Daniel are you alright? The past 2 weeks I have not seen you out of shorts and a short sleeved shirt.” 

Danny shrugged. “I was cold this morning, I found some pants that fit me in your closet and a sweatshirt in the drawer. I was surprised you even owned a sweatshirt.”

Vlad's frown deepened. “Finish your breakfast and meet me in the lab.” with that he left the kitchen and Danny could hear him descending the stairs.

Danny finished his breakfast quickly, he was also curious as to why he was suddenly freezing. Rinsing his plate and leaving it to the side he followed Vlad down the stairs. He found the man looking at his computer in the corner.

Without looking up Vlad said. “Strip down to your boxers and get on the table please.”

Danny just stared at him with an open mouth. “Excuse me?”

Vlad glanced up then back to the computer “I need to run a few tests and those heavy clothes will get in the way, your boxers shouldn't be much interference but if you feel they might you are welcome to remove them as well.”

Danny stared at Vlad a bit longer but once he saw the teasing smirk he grumbled and began stripping. Once he was down to his boxers he hopped onto the metal table and almost fell off letting out a yelp. 

“That's freezing!”

Vlad just hummed, put something into his computer then walked over to Danny. “Sit still Daniel or we will be here longer. Lay down, I need to scan you.”

Danny lay back on the table and whined squirming a bit, at another command to stay still he stopped moving. Vlad brought a machine over him that looked like an x-ray machine he saw when he was 6 and broke his arm. But this one looked different it looked like Vlad had modified it himself.

“Um Vlad, What is that thing?” Danny would deny the shake in his voice if asked about it later. 

Vlad turned a few dials then responded. “In simple terms, it shows me how your ghost half is doing. I used it when I first found you, it shows your core.”

Danny nodded then jumped as the machine started whirring. Vlad patted his hair back softly. 

“I have to leave the room or it will get interference from Plasmius. It won't hurt, I've used it on myself many times.”

Danny watched him go and made sure to stay as still as possible while the machine clicked and groaned away. If Vlad hadn't personally made it he would have been worried about the integrity of the machine. After what seemed like hours the machine finally stopped and the computer chimed. Vlad returned and walked to his computer.

“You may get redressed Daniel, you can also go read or watch TV if you like, I shall likely be here for a while.”

Danny quickly got dressed but didn't move otherwise. “Could I stay here? I'm curious about what is going on plus it is me we are talking about.” 

Vlad glanced over at him calculating something before he nodded. “If you wish, but don't touch anything and the moment you start to become a nuisance I will throw you out”

Danny nearly jumped into the chair by the desk and looked at the screen currently showing what looked like a spreadsheet of data. “So what are all these numbers?”

“Well, this column here shows your baseline set or your 'normal' as we shall call it.”

Danny interrupted him “If you only scanned me after I was already cursed how did you get a normal reading.” 

Vlad coughed and looked at the screen. “Your friend Valerie. Her suit was equipped with a mini scanner, every time it was near you it picked up a little more data. But that's not important, what is important is the fact we have it to see what abnormalities you are presenting.” Vlad looked almost embarrassed. “Anyway, this next line was when I first picked you up in the ghost zone, see how these numbers are high?” Danny nodded “These are your human temperature and Ghost core temperature, your ice core makes you run cold. Yet when I picked you up you were quite high, not as high as mine of course but dangerous for an ice core.” Danny nodded again. He knew Vlad had a fire core which made him opposite of Danny.

Pointing to the third set of numbers he continued. “This is after you started taking that medicine, see how it brought the temperature down? It was working but it wasn't natural. This fourth set is from today. Your temperatures plummeted, I mean lower than what your core should be normally. The only thing I can think of is your core finally kicked in and the medicine used to lower your temperature just added to it. So starting immediately you are to stop taking that medicine. When you have it out of your system we shall see how you are doing. For now I think maybe a warm bath and I'll find you some proper clothes.”

Danny sat up straight remembering “Oh! Speaking of clothes and things, I was supposed to start my next term of school last week. I need to get back or at least get my stuff from my dorm.”

“Not to worry my little badger, I already called your school and informed them you would be taking a semester off, though I was unaware of your housing situation. I shall have Alfred get your belongings. Just write down the address and I shall help you type a letter to inform the school that someone will be picking your things up. Go get your bath.”

After Danny leaves the room Vlad leans down placing his head in his hands. He had a theory but needed to test it, he stripped down to his underwear and lay on the table Danny previously occupied. The machine came to life for the second time that day, when it was done Vlad redressed and returned to the computer. Looking at the results he sighed then grit his teeth and swiped the computer and other contents of the table onto the floor. The crash was slightly satisfying yet did nothing to really quell his anger. Taking a few deep breaths he rang for Alfred. After informing him about what to do with Danny's school things and orders to clean the lab and replace the computer he left. Standing outside Danny's room he straightened his clothes and took a deep breath before knocking. There was no answer so he slowly pushed open the door, the main room was vacant meaning Danny had taken his advice on a warm bath. 

Moving into the closet he pulled out some pants he had been meaning to get rid of due to the cleaners accidentally shrinking them, it was a good thing he didn't. He moved them to one side then returned to the main room. As he was moving some long sleeved tops onto the bed he glanced towards the bathroom door. He almost dropped them as he saw Danny hadn't quite closed the door fully. There was a crack with steam slowly seeping through, through that crack he could see Danny, well the shape of him, in the reflection of the mirror. Danny was currently in the tub with water up to mid-chest, he was running a washcloth over his exposed skin. As Danny slumped down to duck his head underwater Vlad caught himself. He quickly put the clothes on the bed and scribbled a note for Danny to try them on before quickly leaving the room. Once he had closed the main door he leaned against it and groaned., He was not some type of pervert who watched young men bathe. Except he was, and he had.

Vlad retired to his study to get at least some business work done for the day. About an hour after he had begun to earnestly work Danny came in and occupied his usual chair. He was dress in the same pair of pants from earlier but this time had a turtleneck on. 

“Feel better Daniel?”

Danny hummed “Yes a bit though I'm still cold, I was used to always feeling chilled but this feels like I've been living as a penguin.” Danny paused and looked from the computer to the papers spread over the desk. “What are you working on?”

Vlad chuckled and looked back at his computer. “Just some boring work things, nothing to be concerned about.”

Danny stiffened in his chair. “What happened to that lady from last night?”

Vlad paused with his fingers over the keyboard before he moved them to fold in his lap.

“Ah yes. We never did get a chance to talk about this morning did we.” Danny shook his head and looked down.

“First of all. I want you to know something. Daniel look at me.” Danny looked up slightly but it took a moment before  
he brought his eyes up as well. 

Vlad waited until Danny was looking at him before he continued. “I am not mad at you. What that woman did was unacceptable, I had hired her from an agency for the night to be my date for the dinner, during the dinner she drank more than advised. And when it came time for her to go home she begged I not return her to the agency in such a state as she was likely to be fired. Thinking I was being kind I offered for her to stay here. When we arrived I had her stay in the blue room downstairs and was going to have her leave before you even woke. Unfortunately, she seemed to have other plans. Believe me, if at any point I thought you would be in danger I would have never brought her here.” 

Danny just nodded and curled his feet into the chair. 

Vlad continued. “What I also want to address is what happened after, I understand you were scared and unwilling to be alone but I should have never offered my bed to you. My actions were unacceptable and I hope you do not hold them against my character. Some things may come to pass in the near future and I do not want your judgment clouded. “ at Danny's questioning look he held up a hand and went on. “Do not ask me about them now, just know it was not my intention. Now I think it's about lunch time.”


	5. News

Throughout the next week Danny's themparture fluctuate but stayed within normal range of what Vlad felt was safe. The one thing that did change was after the chess game each night Vlad would stay up and read on the couch while Danny watched TV. A few times Danny found himself sitting close enough their thighs touched even though there was plenty of room to sit along the couch. Vlad never seemed to mind, in fact most nights he seemed to relax as soon a he felt the contact. 

It was lunch one day when Vlad dropped the news that left Danny's spoon abandoned half way to his mouth

“Little badger I need to go out of town on an emergency business matter. I should only be gone a few days.”

Danny placed his spoon back into the bowl and frowned. “When do you leave?”

“Tonight, I fly out at 7.” 

“Oh.” Danny slowly finished his soup, then put the bowl in the sink. “Ill be in the library if you need me.”

As Danny browsed the books he began thinking. Why did he care if Vlad wasnt here. True Vlad spent more time in his home study than his office, but Danny hadnt been alone here overnight before. Speaking of being here, Why was he still here? He was feeling better so why not just leave. Danny grabbed a random book off the nearest shelf and sunk into one of the couches. Vlad came into the library later to find Danny asleep with a book half hanging off his lap, placing a bookmark on the open page he placed it on the table then turned to Danny. He was so peaceful and young, he didnt deserve being stuck here with Vlad for selfish reasons. Leaning over he ran his fingers through Danny's hair, it was getting quite long, Vlad liked it long but maybe Danny would like a haircut. 

“Daniel? Come on my little badger, time to get up.”

Danny sighed and stretched slightly before opening his eyes and smiling. “How long was I out?”

Vlad smiled back, “I don't know I just came in, but its dinner time and Emmeline said if you dont come down she's going to feed your portion to the goats.” 

Danny sat up and took Vlads offered hand to help stand up. 

“Comforting to know we are eating food fit for goats.” Vlad chuckled as he tucked Danny's arm in his and began walking towards the Dining room.

Dinner conversation was mostly revolving around Vlad's trip.

“So basically the man who is running your New York office just up and left?” Danny summerized

Vlad chuckled and nodded “Yes I guess that is the short short version. So I have to head out for a few days to get the office sorted out and ready for the next person to take over.”

they chit chatted a bit before Vlad looked at his watch.

“I have to get going to catch my flight.”

Danny looked down at his empty plate then stood following Vlad into the entry way. Vlad gave Danny a quick hug before holding him at arms length

“Now I expect you to be on your best behavior while I'm gone, you know what I expect. No going into my lab or study, and please try not to destroy our house.” 

Danny smiled and looked up to him, this was the first time he had refered to it as their house. “I promise Vlad. I'll be good.”

“I know you will my little badger, I' ll see you soon.” Vlad leaned in and softly kissed Dannys cheek before pulling back quickly and rushing out the door. 

As the door closed Danny unfroze and put his hand over the spot Vlad had kissed. He felt his cheeks heat up, Vlad had kissed him. He let out a nervous laugh. “Vlad kissed me......oh my god......he kissed me.” Dannys face dropped in shock. He needed to sit down. He made it to the living room and collapsed onto the sofa. He knew Vlad had become more comfortable with touching him but he didnt realize they were that comfortable. Shaking his head he came to a decision, he would think on this more tomorrow, it was too fresh at the moment.

That night he curled into bed and listened. The house always seemed big but when he knew no one else was around it made it seem worse for some reason. Curling in a ball he pulled the covers over him and started humming.

 

When he woke in the morning the blankets were pushed across the bed, during the night he had kicked all of them off. Getting up he huffed a few times. He was hot, he was really hot! Getting up he went to the bathroom to take a cool shower, maybe before he left Vlad turned up the heat since he thought Danny would be cold. He would find the thermostat today and turn it back down. Dressing in shorts and a tshirt he started searching around the house, the problem became that he could not fund it anywhere, it must be one of those fancy ones that were hidden behind a painting or something. Danny didnt feel like tearing all the decorations off the walls so he could deal with the heat for a couple days. Standing at the top of the stairs he tapped his fingers on his leg for a bit thinking about what to do on his own. Vlad had set him up a video game system in the living room, he could always play that. Or go visit the goats and chickens in the pens behind the house. Pulling at his shirt he decided today was the perfect day for a swim.


	6. The End

Three days. It had taken Vlad three days to sort out that office. Seeing the state of the New York office had made the decision for him. Throughout the next month he would be visiting each and every one of his buildings, but first, he had to get back to Danny. Walking in the door to his house he let out a breath and felt himself relax, as much as he loved his work he loved being home more.

“Daniel I'm Home!” Vlad felt a bit like Ricky Ricardo at that moment but Danny didn't waltz down the stairs in a 1950's dress. In fact, he didn't hear much of anything besides Alfred coming up beside him to take his coat. 

“Alfred, Where is Daniel?” 

“Sorry Sir, I haven't seen the Young Master in about a day, but that is not unusual, he likes to hide and explore.” Vlad thanked him and headed off to see if he could find him. 

The first place he checked was the lab, for even though Vlad had expressly forbidden it he knew Danny wouldn't listen. Surprisingly nothing looked like it had been touched since he left, checking the study he found the same. Danny had actually listened to him this time. Next, he checked the living room, no Danny. Out by the goats? Still no Danny. Now Vlad was starting to worry, it was the middle of the day and Danny was nowhere he usually was. Maybe he had left? Shifting into Plasmius he started flying through the house from the attic down. When he finally did find Danny it was not as he expected. Danny was spread across his bed in only his boxers, his blankets had been thrown across the room and he was covered in a light sheen of sweat. The heat had come back.

“Daniel. Daniel wake up. I'm back my little badger.” Plasmius landed on the ground and slowly approached the bed shifting back to human as he did. 

“Come on Daniel, it is the middle of the day and you are sleeping it away.” As Vlad got closer he realized something alarming, Danny's breathing was erratic. Sometimes it was fast as if the boy were panting, other times it seemed to stop altogether. 

“Sweet sugar cookies! Not again.” Vlad leaned over to gently shake Danny. 

“Come on little one, come on. Open those eyes for me, let me see those beautiful blue eyes.” 

Danny just groaned but no other response came from the boy.

“No no, come on Daniel. Come back to me.” Vlad picked him up easily cradling him close to his body. Danny seemed to curl closer but maybe that was just his hoping. Vlad thought over his options, he could either take the time to walk Daniel down two flights of stairs as Vlad or shift and float down as Plasmius. Danny's Whimper made the decision for him. Shifting back he held a now whimpering Danny closer as he concentrated on making them intangible.

“I got you little one, I'll make it better. I promise.” 

“I know” Vlad looked down at Danny but the boy was still, his breathing coming in short gasps. Maybe he had imagined it. 

Flying as fast as he could through the house he quickly got to the lab. Laying Danny on the table he rushed around looking for the vial of medicine that had helped Danny before. It wasn't there. He had left it right on..........the desk. He had left it on the desk then pushed the contents to the floor. It was gone, he would have to make more. Setting up the scanner quickly he left the room as it started. He paced outside for what seemed like hours before he heard the ding. Vlad rushed in to look at the computer, it was bad, it was really bad. The results were almost worse than before, The ingredients he needed for the medicine were simple enough to find but they were spread out and took time they didn't have....well time Danny didn't have. Yelling out he slammed his hands on the desk. Getting mad wouldn't help, it was his temper that had screwed him over this time. Vlad looked over to Danny, he had stopped whimpering and was now laying still, too still. 

“Daniel! No, no come on little one. Stay with me.” Vlad flew across the lab and pulled Danny into his arms. He could feel shallow breaths puff against his chest but every so often they paused. Vlad held his breath as well at those points waiting for them to come back. Pulling Danny off the table and into his arms he backed up till he hit the wall then sunk down maneuvering Danny into his lap.

“Come on my little badger, you can't go yet. We need you, I've never heard Alfred laugh so much as when you tell your jokes. Cleo may complain about your mess but I know she loves having someone else besides me to talk to. Mitchel didn't like you at first because you would sneak the goats food but once you learned how to properly care for them he started to like you.” Vlad let out a breathy laugh wiping the tears he hadn't realized were beginning to roll down his face.  
“He thinks no one knows but we all know he doesn't like the goats. And Emmeline, how will I tell her, he refers to you as her grandson she never had, she told me it was about time I found someone to share this big house with. She loved all the creations you would come up with. Oh, how she nearly blew a gasket the night you decided to make dinner, hot dogs and ramen, who would have ever thought of the combination.” Vlad began running his hand through Danny's hair the other coming up to wipe his face and running nose. His entire staff could come marching through right now and he wouldn't care.

“And me, I need you. I need you more than I have ever needed anyone in my life. It scares me Danny, when I saw you floating unresponsive in the ghost zone I thought my heart stopped there and then. I know you thought we never got along but really it was a rouse, you were young and every superhero needed a supervillain. And you were my little superhero.” Vlad stopped to let out a soft laugh 

“And I felt sick, I felt wrong and like some pervert, I wanted you to fight me, because that meant you would spend time with me. And I knew something, well know something, but its wrong it's so wrong. So I hid from you and when you went off to college I stopped visiting you under the premise of fighting. But I still knew where you were, how you were doing. But that hurt you more, I knew it was a possibility but I never thought it would be this bad. It wasn't this bad for me. But then you got better! And after you got better you stayed...you stayed with me. But then I left. I did this! I should have taken you with me, I should have left your medicine. I should have told you.” Vlad looked down as Danny took a shuddering breath then his chest never rose for another.

Vlad clutched Danny close and screamed out before rocking back and forth clutching the boy's limp body close. he leaned down curling as far around the boy as he could and whispered into his chest.  
“I love you”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last planned chapter for Curse of the Phantom. I may or may not write a sequel as there are things I haven't explored and a hidden concept I didn't bring forward, but for now, this is the end.
> 
> Thank you for reading, Reviews and critiques are always welcome.
> 
>  
> 
> Edit: I have posted the next section under Curse of the Phantom: Hopeless

**Author's Note:**

> Please think of leaving a review, they make me happy!


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